âNo wonder I wasnât attacked by any Mutant Beasts on my way here. Even the noise from my motorcycle didnât attract any. It turns out all the Mutant Beasts in this area have gathered here to fight to the death.â
BOOM...
A deafening explosion in the distance caught Lin Liâs attention. He tore his gaze away from the hundreds of Mutant Beasts locked in a chaotic brawl and looked toward the source of the blast.
About three or four hundred meters from the battlefield where the two sidesâ underlings were brawling, two figures, swift as the wind, were locked in a deadly struggle.
Because of the distance, Lin Li couldnât make out the specific appearance of the two distant figures. But that was no problem; he had a way to deal with it.
With a thought, a pair of binoculars appeared in Lin Liâs hands.
âTsk, a massive, colorful tiger and a nimble purple leopard. A tiger-leopard duel... These two Mutant Beasts are so ferocious, and so fast. If I went up against them, my only option would probably be to run!â
Although Lin Li couldnât perceive the Spiritual Energy Waves emanating from the colorful tiger and purple leopard from his vantage point on the mountaintop, just by watching them fight, he knew they were far beyond his ability to handle.
Hiding behind a large rock on the mountaintop, Lin Li watched the massive brawl at the foot of the mountain for a while before a bold idea began to form in his mind.
âScavenging.â
He watched as more and more of the battling Mutant Beasts fell, their blood staining the verdant grass red.
The thought of sneaking over and collecting the corpses of the fallen Mutant Beasts took root in his mind.
As time went on, the urge grew stronger.
It was no wonder Lin Li had such an idea; there were simply too many Mutant Beast corpses scattered across the ground.
So much flesh and blood, all less than an hour old. If he could just store it all in the Mysterious Small Island, it would drastically shorten the time it took to harvest his Magical Little Fruits.
âFortune favors the bold! As long as Iâm quiet, they wonât notice me. And even if they do, I can just hide in the Mysterious Small Island and lie low for a while... â
After thinking it over, Lin Li made up his mind. He stored his Spiritual Longsword and the binoculars in the Mysterious Small Island.
Then, he emerged from behind the giant rock and began to sneak toward the chaotic battlefield at the foot of the mountain.
ROAR...
SCREECH...
SQUAWK...
GURGLE...
Both Exotic Beast Groups were in a killing frenzy. In the beginning, the two sides were evenly matched.
Unfortunately, as time wore on, the purple leopardâs side, which was slightly weaker overall, gradually began to lose ground.
In the distance, the purple leopard fighting the colorful tiger was unwilling to admit defeat. However, the gaping wounds on its bodyâblasted open by the tigerâs Superpowerâforced it to accept that it had lost this battle for territory.
WHOOSH.
BOOM.
After narrowly dodging a shockingly powerful Fireball Attack, the purple leopard quickly put distance between itself and the colorful tiger.
HUFF... HUFF...
The intense battle had also left the colorful tiger exhausted. Seeing the purple leopard pull away, it didnât give chase immediately. Instead, it stood its ground, panting heavily to recover its stamina.
Covered in wounds, the purple leopardâs eyes were bloodshot as it looked at its underlings, who were struggling to hold on. It let out a great roar.
"ROAR! Everyone, with me! We will avenge todayâs defeat another day!"
The purple leopardâs underlings, already on the verge of collapse, heard their leaderâs order to retreat. They let out a few reluctant snarls before quickly turning to flee into the distance.
"ROAR! You just wait! Iâll be back for my revenge sooner or later!"
The purple leopard shot a final threat at the panting tiger, then leaped, bounding through the air until it was forty or fifty meters high.
It then sped off in the direction its underlings had fled, joining them as they frantically escaped into the depths of the wilderness.
"ROAR! I wonât give you the chance for revenge! Today, Iâll slaughter every last one of you!"
Seeing the purple leopard and its underlings flee, the colorful tiger immediately roared to its own underlings, whose morale was sky-high.
"Donât let them escape! Everyone, with me! Weâll finish them all off today!"
ROAR...
SCREECH...
SQUAWK...
GURGLE...
Bathed in blood, the victorious underlings heard their leaderâs order to give chase. Having just routed their enemies, their morale was soaring, and their eyes gleamed with excitement.
They immediately fell in behind the colorful tiger, which was already streaking after its foes, to hunt down the frantically fleeing purple leopard and its followers.
With one group chasing the other, both Exotic Beast Groups soon disappeared over the wilderness horizon.
WHOOSH...
RUSTLE... RUSTLE...
A gentle breeze blew, rustling the grass and trees. The battlefield, deafeningly chaotic just a moment before, was now deathly silent...
Lin Li, who had been hiding in a thicket and waiting for his chance, watched through a gap in the leaves as both Exotic Beast Groups vanished over the horizon. He was stunned for a moment.
âNo way! They just... left? This whole situation... Sigh. I was worried for nothing.â
When he came to his senses, a look of pure ecstasy spread across his face. He emerged from the thicket and hurried toward the nearby battlefield, which was littered with Mutant Beast corpses.
...
Golden sunlight shone down upon the blood-soaked patch of grass.
If an ordinary person were to stumble upon such a place in the perilous wildernessâa field scattered with the corpses of so many Mutant Beastsâthe sight would likely make their legs turn to jelly.
At this moment, however, a figure in camouflage was walking gleefully across this blood-soaked ground littered with corpses.
Each time he bent down and placed a hand on a dead Mutant Beast, the corpse would vanish into thin air in the blink of an eye.
"Hahaha... My luck is just too good today!" An irrepressible grin spread across Lin Liâs face as he laughed, continuing to collect the Mutant Beast corpses from the ground.
A little over ten minutes later, Lin Li had collected nearly every single Mutant Beast corpse from the area into his Mysterious Small Island.
âI was so excited I didnât even count how many corpses I picked up.â
âI should leave here first, find a safe place, and then enter the Mysterious Small Island to check the progress of the Magical Little Fruit.â
Before leaving, Lin Li scanned the entire battlefield one last time. After confirming he hadnât missed a single corpse, he left with a chuckle, sprinting in the direction of the safe zone.
Not long after Lin Li left, a gunship outfitted with the latest weaponry flew out from the direction of the city, speeding toward the location of the great Mutant Beast battle.
ROAR...
The helicopterâs roar echoed in all directions. Upon arrival, the cabin door slid open, and a sturdy figure leaped out.
Huh?!!
The figure that leaped from the cabin wasnât wearing a parachute. Did he have a death wish?
The man who jumped was middle-aged, in his forties, with a powerful build, a buzz cut, and a square jaw. He wore a black uniform.
An Investigator. The black uniform identified the man as an Investigator.
Plummeting toward the ground from several hundred meters up, the Investigator abruptly halted his descent when he was fifty meters from the ground. Then, he simply stood there, suspended in mid-air.
......